Scruffy’s This N That

1 – UH-OH! I did not think the Riders would lose to Calgary. I did not think they would lay a gigantic egg on the Mosaic turf against the Stampeders, but that is exactly what they did and now what seemed to be impossible a few weeks ago could now be reality as there is a distinct possibility that this team could miss the playoffs.  Yes, the possibility of them repeating as Grey Cup champs or getting back to the big game is there too, but I think we need to see a lot more from this team than what we saw last night.  I don’t know about you, but that might have been their worst game of the year. 

Yeah, Trevor Harris had another 400-yard passing game, but the running game was surprisingly ineffective and once again the defence saw another quarterback just light them up as Vernon Adams was at the top of his game. 

I think it is safe to say that there will be no home playoff game this year. With Saskatchewan having lost the season series to B.C, Winnipeg and Calgary they have made things tough for themselves.  The next three weeks will tell us a lot about what this football team has in them as they will be playing the two teams that might very well be the final two standing.  The fall from grace has been a quick one. 

2 – RILEY GREEN: Another year of the half-time act performing at the Grey Cup being criticized has begun.  To what should be the surprise of no one, the announcement of Riley Green, who is one of the top-selling male country artists, was met with negativity by people who must be happy living such a sad life. 

People want an all-Canadian act because of the political climate. Hey, let’s get Calgary girl Tate McRae to do her thing. Oh wait, McRae is too provocative so that will anger the female crowd even though the 18–39-year-old male demographic would love it. We can’t have that and oh yeah, the ladies love Riley.  Why do we have to have a country artist? The game is in Calgary where country music is king. Figure it out! Do these people that are anti-American realize that many of the players and coaches in your league make their home south of the 49^th parallel? 

It doesn’t matter if it’s the Grey Cup, the Super Bowl or whatever. People just need to bitch and complain about it because it doesn’t fit their narrative. This just in. Your narrative means very little. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean everyone should share your view. That isn’t the way things work.  If you can’t figure that out, that’s a you problem and not a we problem.

Riley is performing in Western Canada early next year and I am guessing shows in Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg will be sold out because those who appreciate country music can see this guy is good at what he does. If that tour sells a few more tickets because of his performance at half-time than so be it. I expect him to be outstanding at halftime and if Ella Langley joins him on stage to sing “You Look Like You Love Me”, the performance will be the talk of many Monday morning.

By the way, who is doing the Super Bowl halftime show and will the backlash be as strong as it was for Bad Bunny last year? Probably! 

3 – STEALING THE SPOTLIGHT: Unless you are a member of the Toronto media, Sergei Bobrovsky is being criticized by many and he should be.  Bobrovsky decided to follow Gavin McKenna out on the ice for his first official lap as an NHL player.  He couldn’t have waited 15 seconds? It’s a real bad look for a veteran player.  The guys on Overdrive and the Sportsnet hockey crew tried to throw cold water on it saying it’s no big deal, but to many others including me it was a sign of disrespect from one teammate to another. I am guessing the Overdrive three and other Toronto media defending Bobrovsky wouldn’t be saying the same thing if this was any other team involved. By the way, Bobrovsky to his credit did apologize.  I wonder if he thought he would ever be grilled on something like that.  Welcome to Toronto, Bob!

4 – JACK HUGHES-AJ MLECZKO: ESPN’s AJ Mleczko is facing some heat for an intermission at the bench interview with Olympic hero Jack Hughes this week.  Mleczko tried to interject some humour into the interview by bringing up the hand injury Hughes suffered last year when something happened at a team event during a dinner and suggested he be put in bubble wrap and that he should use plastic cutlery. Hughes skated away from the interview after letting Mleczko know her attempt at humour had failed. 

The gender debate started with those jumping to Mleczko’s defence saying Hughes wouldn’t react that way if Paul Bissonette asked the question. Here’s the difference—Bissonette doesn’t do those interviews in-game. He does them after as do many others when some fun is had.  Does anyone remember a few years ago when Brad Marchand skated away from Kyle Bukauskas after an awkward question before the game?  It doesn’t matter if you are a man or woman doing those interviews, there is a time and a place for those questions and that was neither the time or the place. Mleczko was wrong and it doesn’t matter if she is a man or woman. I do wonder though what the reaction would have been had it been after the game when Hughes scored the OT winner. I am thinking a chuckle would have been had. 

5 – REGINA’S TEAM:  Do the Regina Pats and Seattle Kraken have some sort of arrangement? They should! As the NHL season starts, there are seven former Pats on opening-night rosters. Five of them are in Seattle—Jordan Eberle, Chandler Stephenson, Ryker Evans, Josh Mahura and Cale Fleury. I am sure someone with the WHL or CHL can answer the question, but has one team had more alumni on an NHL team than the Pats with Seattle? 

6 – EARMUFFS KIDS: Before their season opener, the Carolina Hurricanes informed their fans to refrain from abusive language, profanity-especially with children nearby and obscene gestures. Anyone found in violation will be removed.  Doesn’t this happen at every stadium in sports even places like the Co-Operators Centre and yes, hockey parents I am talking about you. 

Many places now allow you to text someone to deal with fans who are a little too tiresome because of their language or their behaviour which most times is alcohol-fuelled but is this going over the line or not? 

How would Rider fans react if they were told no profanity, abusive language or obscene gestures will be tolerated and that you risk being told to leave.  What about the Brandt Centre? I’ve been going to games for years at many different places and I think I have heard or seen fans guilty of this behaviour. I might be guilty of dropping a four-letter word from time to time as well while in the stands.  What are your thoughts on this? 

7 – NFL WEEK 4:  Kids, we are living in a world where the Cleveland Browns are 3-1 and the Las Vegas Raiders are undefeated. Be scared, be very scared.  Here are some tidbits going into Week 4 of the season. 

• The Raiders–Chiefs matchup will be the first game in NFL history between two 3-0 teams that both lost 10+ games the previous season. In a series that dates back to 1960, it’s also the first time that any Raiders-Chiefs matchup saw both teams enter at least 3-0.
• Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen is the first quarterback in NFL history with multiple rushing touchdowns in three consecutive games and the fourth player ever with at least six rushing touchdowns in nine consecutive seasons. With a win on Sunday against New England, Allen, who has 99 career wins since entering the NFL in 2018, including the postseason, can become the fourth quarterback all-time with at least 100 wins, including the postseason, in his first nine seasons, joining Patrick Mahomes (112 wins), Russell Wilson (107) and Tom Brady (101).
• Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow threw three TD passes against Pittsburgh last week. He now has 28 games since 2021 where he has thrown three or more touchdown passes which leaves him at number one in that category. 
• The San Francisco 49ers are home to Denver.  San Fran QB Brock Purdy has not been sacked in the first three games of the year. Only three other teams in NFL history since 1990 have gone the first three games of the year without allowing a sack.  The last one was the 2014 Bengals.

8 – THERE’S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL: I thought people crying about the 55-yard-line leaving the CFL at the end of this season was over the top, but It is nothing compared to those mad because playoff baseball is being played in the afternoon——which it has for years! Oh yeah, the crying comes from those inconvenienced because they can’t see their team and that includes the team I cheer for.  There are Cubs fans saying their kids can’t see games from San Diego because they have to be in bed and that the start time is too late. Did the parents of these kids allow their children to stay home last year when Chicago was playing in the afternoon? Phillies fans are upset because the first two games of their series were afternoon affairs and then there is the traditional “I don’t want to pay to get Peacock” argument.  It’s like the Friday Night Apple games during the regular season. 

Playoff baseball and baseball in general have day games all the time. When it comes to the playoffs, MLB wants eyes on all games, and they don’t want them starting at the same time. It has been this way since the wild-card format featuring four series started, but this year it seems likes the complaints are tenfold. Was it like that when Toronto was eliminated by Minnesota a couple of years ago and the games were afternoon affairs? Just be glad your team is in the playoffs or in the case of the Cubs—was in the playoffs. SIGHHHH!

9 – RANDOM THOUGHTS:

• Boo Tim Horton’s! If you pick a correct goal scorer seven straight times in their Tim’s Hockey Challenge, you now get a free donut for a week instead of a free coffee. Bring back the coffee guys or give us a choice! 
• Thanks to Rogers for giving us more Michael Cera for the NHL season. I thought we had seen the last of him after those annoying Blue Jays ads, but nope! 
• The ESPN intro to the NHL season featuring the kids trying to hop over the boards was simply outstanding. If you didn’t see it, try to find it. 
• The Flintstones went on TV for the first time 60 years ago. There has never been a better cartoon than the Flintstones right Regina kids of my age?

That’s all I got.  Have a great week!